It seems as though we as a people are always worried about what the next man or woman is doing with their lives. All this does is breed jealousy, envy and hatred. If you have seen the move Seven then you know where those emotions can lead. Take a long look at yourself and where you are in respect to where you want to be. May be the one thing holding you back the most from attaining whatever you desire is looking right back at you in the mirror every morning. This may be a harsh reality for some, but if your honest with yourself and don’t want to lead yourself astray then you will give yourself a brutal self evaluation. I look in the mirror and what I see is a man trying to do the best he can, but has faults that need to be addressed. I am going to open up and let you know what I think I need to work on to be a better man/person/contributor to society.

One of my major faults is I am very quick to judge someone and get my mind set in a way that it’s hard to change my opinions. This has lead to plenty of hard feelings between me and other people for no valid reasoning beyond my own rushed assessment of them. This may be the hardest of them all for me to correct, because I have to learn that we are not all the same and not all on the same mental/emotional/spiritual level. I have to realize that just because I see things one way and portray someone’s actions as wrong, they in turn may not consider what they are doing as wrong or bothering me. I think this stems from my belief that everyone has common sense and should know how to do the simplest tasks. But in reality what may be simple to me may be extremely difficult to another. This works the other way too, what I may see as extremely difficult may be an easy task to someone else. I have to learn to accept that I have limitations as well as every other person walking this earth. Not judge a person by his/her limitations, but help them work through them to make them a better person. In return I would hope they would return the same actions towards me. If I can do that I think it will make me a better man and person.

Now I have stepped out on the limb to reveal one of my major faults. Can you do the same? It really helps to see who you really are when you put things down in writing, and have them staring back at you. This process works in setting personal goals, they say write them down and put them were you can see. This will help the dream become reality. So write down your faults and what you think you need to work on and work towards crossing them off the list one by one. This may be a lifelong process and you may never completely whip your list clean but with each deletion you will be one step towards being the man or woman that you want to be in life.

Do this open and freely and don’t worry about what other people have to say about you. You be you and let them be them, hence the variation from my title. There are times when we have to be concerned with each other and there are times when we need to focus on ourselves. For this to work you have to really and truly be brutally honest with yourself and not lie to yourself. After this initial self evaluation its ok to get someone else’s take on your conclusions. Run the list by someone close to you and get their views on it. Tweak it if needed and then you are on your way to becoming a better person, to yourself and the people around you…..The_Ghost_BKS1

The current state of hip hop, Is it dead? Morphed into a new version, or Is it alive and kicking? Many say its dead, as well as a well noted Hip Hop Artist, and there are the masses that say it’s not dead but it evolved with the times and it’s catering to what the kids of today want.

A hamburger and meatball are made from the same meat, Beef. Do you say I am having spaghetti and hamburger or spaghetti n meatballs? Or do you got say I want a meatball with cheese on a bun or I want a hamburger with cheese on a bun. My point being the foundation is the same, but the form and structure are different so its categorized differently.

On The next Live In The Vocal Booth Show, we celebrate Fathers across the world. Let’s be real, many fathers these days don’t get the recognition they deserve. Dads get applauded if they are simply seen with their children in public and are considered saints if they are actually married to their child/children’s mother! Not tonight…tonight, we are celebrating dads of all kinds. Married dads, single dads, dads of all races & creeds; if their doing what they are supposed to do, we’re celebrating you. We’re celebrating daddies tonight on “Live in the Vocal Booth”!

This Edition of LIVE In The Vocal Booth Show we rate and review along with YOU the listener Kieth Sweat's new release "'Til The Morning"

Here is our rating system:5 Stars: It's blazing hot – on fire 4 Stars: It's a hot song – pump it up3 Stars: It's alright-good song2 Stars: Thanks for the album cut-what's next1 Stars: I won't tell nobody about that if you don't…lets keep that a secret

Keith Sweat | 'Til The Morning

Keith Sweat, is a Harlem, N.Y born songwriter/ record producer/ vocalist / actor/ radio personality, with a career that spans 24 years of record breaking and trail blazing contributions to the Pop and R&B genre. He is coined the genius behind the New Jack Swing phenomenon of the late 1980’s. Keith Sweat’s timely transition to the R&B mecca of Atlanta in 1992 added “label impresario” to his roster of talents. Keith has dominated the Pop and R&B worlds with an indefinable presence. His debut and now classic album Make It Last Forever sold more than three million copies, producing four R&B hit singles, including “I Want Her,” which also landed at #5 on the Pop charts. The album stats also include a nomination for the 1989 Soul Train Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year award. Keith Sweat has delivered five straight #1 albums, selling a worldwide total of 25 million records. His self-titled 1996 effort, Keith Sweat, gained quadruple platinum status. His critically acclaimed collaboration with fellow superstars Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill on the double platinum LSG, was launched a decade after he first landed in the music business.

He has thrived as one of Atlanta’s first record industry moguls, building his own recording studio and discovering new artists such as Silk and Kut Klose – signing both multi-platinum groups to his Keia Record label. Sweat has become one of Atlanta’s leading mentors for young talent, its principle purveyor of R&B music. The unflappable Sweat points to his consistency as the key to his success and achievement of a dozen top ten R&B singles including seven #1’s, four top five Pop singles and frequenting Billboards Top Charts.

After being named Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist by the American Music Awards in 1997, Sweat celebrated his longevity with his 1998’s aptly titled album, Still in the Game. His 2008 album Just Me made waves on radio and at cash registers and endorsed his claims to remain “in the game”. Keith released his tenth studio album Ridin Solo in 2010. This multi-talented artist masters his craft and expounds upon various interests that keep him fresh in the public’s eye.

He has appeared on both the Martin show and the Wayans Brothers show, among others, and has starred in a handful of independent movies. Keith Sweat’s initiation into the realty show craze, Keith Sweat’s Platinum House, yielded #1 ranking on the Centric network – of which, he was Creator and Executive Producer.

On the cusp of his third decade in the spotlight, Sweat has almost become a genre unto himself, his pleading ballads a mainstay of radio’s “Quiet Storm” format. As if in acknowledgement of that, Sweat hosts the #1 night time nationally syndicated radio show, “The Sweat Hotel”. The live call-in program boasts 3 million listeners exchanging dialogue with Keith about matters of the heart. Like the steady beat of his uptempo hits and polarizing ballads, Keith Sweat, remains relevant – recently voted #11 on the list of the 20 Greatest R&B/Soul cd’s of all time for his epic album Make It Last Forever by the Georgia Informer magazine. Keith Sweat garners an impressive fan base in the fickle genre of Pop R&B and continues to redefine boundaries.

The Power of the Black $$$$$:

African-American buying power is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015 according to The State of the African- American Consumer Report, recently released, collaboratively by Nielsen. Tonight we are going to dissect what the report says about true black power. Do we, as a community, really grasp how loud our voice rings in the world of retail? Do you know how much black culture is studied by marketing companies hoping to get a piece of our pie? It's a powerful report, with powerful conclusions, and we're going break it down for you tonight so we can claim our power. Here, on "Live in the Vocal Booth".

The decorations are hung, the presents are wrapped, and the goose is getting cooked. All that's missing is your holiday cheer. Have no fear, your "Live in the Vocal Booth" team is here. We love this time of year, and we're going to help usher in another Christmas celebration. Tonight we're sharing some of our best and worst Christmas gifts and special moments that make this season bright. We'll mix in some of our favorite Christmas songs and some trivia while you wait to hear the click, click, click of 'Ole Saint Nick. It's Christmas Eve...tonight on "Live in the Vocal Booth"

Tonight's LIVE In The Vocal Booth Show we rate and review: Kindred The Family Soul new CD release "Love Has No Recession"

Here is our rating system:

5 Stars: It's blazing hot – on fire 4 Stars: It's a hot song – pump it up3 Stars: It's alright-good song2 Stars: Thanks for the album cut-what's next1 Stars: I won't tell nobody about that if you don't…lets keep that a secret

Kindred the Family Soul, also referred to as Kindred, are an American R&B, soul, and neo soul duo consisting of the married couple of Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon. Signed to Hidden Beach Recordings, Kindred emerged from the Philadelphia neo soul movement that also includes Jill Scott, who discovered them while the couple was performing at the Black Lily Film & Music Festival.

After two years of work on the CD, Hidden Beach issued their debut album Surrender to Love in February 2003, which included, among others, the songs "Stars" and "Far Away". Their follow-up album was 2005's In This Life Together—its title being a reference to Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee's 1998 book With Ossie & Ruby: In This Life Together—, spawning the single "Where Would I Be (The Question)".

Halloween was good fun for the kids now it is a day for evil and some parents don't let there kids dress up no more! Is todays society too serious about everything? Has Santa, the Easter bunny, Halloween, and holidays that were mostly fun things fallen prey to the nature of todays society to be so serious? Are these things teaching our children the wrong messages?

Do you let your kids go trick or treating? Believe in Santa? or do you believe that Halloween is the Devil's day and refuse to let your kids believe in a man coming down the chimney to deliver presents to the people? Is it ok to let a kid believe in something and be a kid or Is it best for the kid to know the truth at an early age? Are we robbing our youth of the innocence of childhood? You tell us tonight on the Live In The Vocal Booth Show.

Khaled was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is of Palestinian descent and lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Currently, he hosts the weeknight program TakeOver on Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR with fellow host K. Foxx; Khaled states that he has worked for the station professionally since 2003. In 1998, Khaled worked as a "sidekick" for Miami rapper Luther Campbell for Campbell's Friday night WEDR radio show The Luke Show. In his albums, Khaled usually provides "shoutouts" that assert his representation of "the ghetto" and urges people to listen, Khaled's passion for hip hop music began at the age of 14 but he did not intend to be a rapper, instead he opted for a career as a producer in hip hop music stating, I became interested in rap music in my early teens but I didnt wanna be a rapper cuz I didnt have that kind of ethic, however I loved making beats and the first demo I made, I was like damn! I fell in love with making sounds and beats and from then on I worked very hard to get somewhere with my music.From 2004 to 2006, Khaled assisted in the production of the hip-hop albums Real Talk by Fabolous, True Story by Terror Squad, All or Nothing by Fat Joe, and Me, Myself, & I by Fat Joe.

“Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations,” - Jay Z. This quote was made during his Oprah’s Master Class episode, and it really gets you to thinking. How has Hip Hop truly affected our culture? We hear about all of the negatives, but what about the positives? Do they balance out how our society has changed since its’ birth? Tonight, we’re going to discuss both sides of the scale. We’re gonna open the phone lines and chat room up for a debate to determine if Hip Hop has helped or hindered our society in numerous ways. We’ll also hear from Dr. James Braxton Peterson, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University, and founder of Hip Hop Scholars, LLC, as he’ll contribute to this thought-provoking discussion. All of this, as we go “Live in the Vocal Booth”.

Special Guest: James Braxton Peterson, Ph.D.

James Braxton Peterson (Duke ’93, UPENN 2003) is the Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. He has been Associate Professor of English at Bucknell University, a visiting lecturer and preceptor in African American Studies at Princeton University and the Media Coordinator for the Harvard University Hip Hop Archive.

He is also the founder of Hip Hop Scholars, LLC, an association of Hip Hop generational scholars dedicated to researching and developing the cultural and educational potential of Hip Hop, urban, and youth cultures. Peterson has written numerous scholarly articles on Hip Hop Culture, Multiculturalism, African American Literature, Culture, and Linguistics as well as Urban Studies. He has conducted interviews with Gil Scott Heron, Dr. Manning Marable, Sistah Souljah, Snoop Dogg, Dead Prez, DJ Jazzy Jeff and generally applies his journalistic skills and his ethnographic training toward innovative academic inquiry. Peterson has been featured on/in BET and Bet.com, The Michael Eric Dyson Show, Hot 97’s “Street Soldiers,” The Michael Baisden Show, and the award-winning PBS documentary, Beyond Beats and Rhymes. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBS News, MSNBC, ABC News, ESPN, HLN, and various local television networks as an expert on popular culture, urban youth and politics.

Peterson blogs for the Huffington Post and he has published his scholarly work in Callaloo, Criticism, Black Arts Quarterly, XXL, and African American Review. Essays and other ‘public sphere’ writing have appeared on The Root.com, and SLAM online. Peterson is currently working on his first academic book, Major Figures: Critical Essays on Hip Hop Music (Mississippi University Press). He has also been featured and/or quoted in Vibe Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, The Miami Herald, Southern Voices and The Wall Street Journal.

With Halloween just days away what could be more terrifying than a date from HELL! Whether the person is late, talks about all of the wrong things, or just a plain jerk find out ways to identify if a date is on its way to destruction or salvation. The ladies of OWWHH are here to help you dodge dating disasters! Join us Live for another new episode on the OWWHH Show ….. Only Women Wear High Heels.